Cross, Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

 I am back.
Sorry for the year off from writing, but i needed to regroup, especially after last year's bad run of events. To recap, i had abdominal surgery, followed by a horrific bike fall resulting in  breaking and cracking my pelvis in several places, then my Dad passed. To say last year was a bust is a real truth.

The ups and downs in the aftermath of all that, combined with trying to keep my head above water at work, took it's toll on my mental health. Luckily, i have a great guy who got me through it, and also great friends, coworkers, and family who stood by me, even when i went into my cave for a while.

This year started off slower than i wanted. I got a brand new spakin' mtb bike, thinking i would hit some trails and start training early for cyclocross. But it turns out, my body had other plans. I had a difficult time getting comfortable on any bike again.  After countless hours of therapy, incorrect fittings,  and some realization that i had to really figure out how to sit on a bike again, I am pretty darn close. But that took time, and my second season plans were wasted.

So, here I am. September, and guess what, I'm on the doorstep of Cyclocross season.  I've been enamored with this sport for about three years now, but I've not taken the leap.  My good friend and mentor, is a Master's champion, and he's been a staple in my recovery.  He showed me the basics months ago, but it wasn't until i attended the first of three training clinics supported by Richardson Bike Mart, that I got my first taste of it.

If you have NO idea what i'm talking about, google Cyclocross. But if you are too busy to do that, it's like crossfit on a bike. It's sort of a mix between  a road and mountain bike race, without the extremes.  Either way, it's got all the aspects of a magnificent, extremely tough race. It's ridden on either a Cross bike, which looks like a road bike with bigger tires, or a mountain bike (which i don't suggest unless you are strong enuf to lift a big bike and leap with it).  There are sharp, intense climbs, small hurdles called 'barriers' and rough terrain to ride over, not to mention sprinkled with sand or mud pits, snow, rain, sleet, cold, hot, dust, etc. It's an All Terrain race, and it's not comfortable. You race full tilt for about an hour, lap after lap, like a crit race.

On the first day of the clinic, we learned how to dismount, hop over hurdles carrying the bike, and remount.  There was also some trail like tech turns.  I discoved how bad out of shape i am for this sport. You use your whole body in this. Suddenly, riding a bike seems so lazy!  You run, hop, carry, push, fall, struggle, and if you do it right, so im told, vomit.


It became very clear to me, that I needed to learn the remount. It's all based on that.  So, after one class, i took my bike to my backyard, and spent hours bruising important body parts on the saddle, hopping on and on and on and on.

By the second class, the ONLY thing i had achieved was beating down some nerves.  I ended up knocking the barriers out of hte way with my bike, not the right technique obviously, and wanted to scream in fear doing the trail tech stuff.  I watched others master the remount so fast, so quickly and I decided i needed to kick this in gear.



I started adding fast, steep hills into my road biking.  I took the CX bike up to flag pole hill and i ride up and down that beast.  MY boyfriend helped me build some barriers, which my neighbor now believes I am out of my mind as she saw my trying to launch my fat ass over those barriers in the most ungraceful of leaps.  I am not a gazelle, I'm more a hippo. 

One thing i realized about the barriers, is that i was trying to leap with a foot I'm not comfortable with.  Once i stopped thinking about it, and just ran up to them, I leaped with the other foot, and it came together. I keep a shot bag in my office to strength train with, and a large ball to do situps on.  I've stepped up the P90x stuff too.  All i need are some grueling tires to hop around on.

Sunday was the last class.  Each time the courses got harder.  I learned how to mass start, but I'm terrible at the take off.  My poor boyfriend thought i was middle of the pack, when in reality, i'd just been lapped..a lot :D

Next week starts the actually races.  Despite my many bruises and countless sore muscles. I feel sort of excited, cautious, but excited.   I am in this for the journy. The journey of learning something new, something that I'm not naturally good at, or particuarly physically suited for.  But who cares! It's cross!

I haven't even told you about what a great spectator sport this is.  You get to stand right by all the fun parts, yell, scream, ring cowbells, make alot of noise and laugh at how hard it is...It's an utter blast to watch.

http://txbra.org/events/ Scroll down to October and look for the races. Come watch.
More as i put myself through the meatgrinder!